If you could have gotten Mattel to listen to you . . .

[Havok1891]

What are some examples of situations where you wish you could have talked to Mattel's shot callers and had some sort of real influence on something they did? This isn't meant to be a "Oh, I'd tell them to make Vixen because I want her" sort of thing.

One example:

1) Trying to explain how unsound it is to produce an Uncle Sam (with Dollman) with no apparent intention to make more Freedom Fighters. Something like a one shot figure like Constantine, fine, but starting a team when there are already teams that need to be finished . . . really dumb if you ask me. That could have been a slot Aqualad, Zod, Vixen, or others could have had.

Not to mention that it could suggest some lack of focus or something when a year goes by without any more effort going into Sam's team.

2) This ties into #1, they really needed to learn to follow some sort of commitment to team completion in a more near future manner. Sure, they more or less finished Doom Patrol & the Metal Men by the skin of their teeth (and as time goes by, the lack of a Mento or Chief really says to me that Doom Patrol isn't truly finished, just the fun parts). But they have so many unfinished projects that it's really offensive to the collector. It's in Young Justice, two eras of incomplete Teen Titans, Rainbow Lanterns leaders, Rainbow Lantern deputies (they had no business starting one without finishing the other, I'd favor the actual lanterns over the deputies of course . . . but still). It just comes off as lazy and untrustworthy to me. Yeah, cause buyers in the know should buy into future projects Mattel won't actively try to finish. You know?

[Skullmaster]

Hmmm I'll try to think of some, hehe.

[Justice Freak]

Aqualad(Garth) and Speedy(Roy) because they finish off the original five members and teen sidekicks of the Teen Titans. Helps finish of the Aquaman Family and Green Arrow Family. Easily done re-using some parts minimal new sculpts required.

Mera...sure many people wanted the scale armor look but to justify costs...why not go with her more classic look. Not too mention she has become a strong player in the DC Universe the last few years.

Zatanna in her Perez costume....she truly finishes off the classic Justice League of America in that look. After all if you look back on any of the merchandising from that time that had Zatanna on it, she was in that outfit.

Isis...another person who became rather prominent in the DCU since her induction to the comics after all these years...and She has ties to the Marvel(aka Shazam family...and to Black Adam a very popular villain/anti-hero in recent years).

Sivana because he finishes of the main villains for Captain Marvel/Shazam. Could easily be done for low cost.

Zod...although you have to pick a look or do an amalgam of looks...he's a Superman villain who has appeared in the comics and on the big screen in a couple of movies now. On the main Superman enemies that haven't been made.

Circe who is a major antagonist of Wonder Woman and she's god with magical powers. She adds another cst member to Diana's rogues gallery along with Giganta and the Cheetah.

Johnny Thunder with T-Bolt....could easily re-use the suited buck sculpt. Maybe make T-Bolt with less articulation...making him like a plugs-in to Johnny similar to the way the did Skeets with Booster Gold. He also helps to finish off the JSA.

Prometheus....he's a JLA villain who has tries to Batman and Green Arrow. Had become of big player in the DC Universe in recent years and has a unique look. Who wouldn;t want a bada$$ character that could take on the entire Justice League single-handed.

Vixen...she's a strong female character who's worked her way up through the DCU power chain. Is connected to the JLA and to GL John Stewart. Has a great colored costume that stand out among the other heroes and would pop on the the toy shelves.Can be done at low costs re-using parts very little new sculpting to be done.

Black Orchid in her classic costume. She's the out of left field type character. Very unique look. She has a history shrouded in mystery...she's somewhat a super spy of the DCU. Is she a villain? Is she a hero? Is she really a Kryptonian like Superman? She has shown up in animation with Batman and has connections to the Suicide Squad in the comics. She would look fantastic along with the rest of the DCUC collection.

[HectorHall]

i love the Black Orchid idea, but it once again highlights the difficulty with a line that had so many options. While I would love a figure like this, I am pretty sure she wouldn't make the list for most. I agree with everything on your list, with the most consensus resting with Speedy and Aqualad. Sigh......to think at wave 15 we got Jemm.

[Bo-rilla Grodd]

Wave 15, lmao. At the time, I was like "what is going on?" Martian Manhunter, and a bunch of people I dont want. Oh, Raven too. But OMAC, Jemm, Golden Pharaoh, and Sinestro Corps Bats? WHOOOOOOOOOO, Boy!!!!!
Now, of course, in retrospect, wave 15 was a godsend compared to 17 and 18. No offense to you super powers/superfriends fans. And Ive warmed up to my OMAC after reading the John Byrne stuff.

[Havok1891]

Aqualad(Garth) and Speedy(Roy) because they finish off the original five members and teen sidekicks of the Teen Titans. Helps finish of the Aquaman Family and Green Arrow Family. Easily done re-using some parts minimal new sculpts required.

Mera...sure many people wanted the scale armor look but to justify costs...why not go with her more classic look. Not too mention she has become a strong player in the DC Universe the last few years.

Zatanna in her Perez costume....she truly finishes off the classic Justice League of America in that look. After all if you look back on any of the merchandising from that time that had Zatanna on it, she was in that outfit.

Isis...another person who became rather prominent in the DCU since her induction to the comics after all these years...and She has ties to the Marvel(aka Shazam family...and to Black Adam a very popular villain/anti-hero in recent years).

Sivana because he finishes of the main villains for Captain Marvel/Shazam. Could easily be done for low cost.

Zod...although you have to pick a look or do an amalgam of looks...he's a Superman villain who has appeared in the comics and on the big screen in a couple of movies now. On the main Superman enemies that haven't been made.

Circe who is a major antagonist of Wonder Woman and she's god with magical powers. She adds another cst member to Diana's rogues gallery along with Giganta and the Cheetah.

Johnny Thunder with T-Bolt....could easily re-use the suited buck sculpt. Maybe make T-Bolt with less articulation...making him like a plugs-in to Johnny similar to the way the did Skeets with Booster Gold. He also helps to finish off the JSA.

Prometheus....he's a JLA villain who has tries to Batman and Green Arrow. Had become of big player in the DC Universe in recent years and has a unique look. Who wouldn;t want a bada$$ character that could take on the entire Justice League single-handed.

Vixen...she's a strong female character who's worked her way up through the DCU power chain. Is connected to the JLA and to GL John Stewart. Has a great colored costume that stand out among the other heroes and would pop on the the toy shelves.Can be done at low costs re-using parts very little new sculpting to be done.

Black Orchid in her classic costume. She's the out of left field type character. Very unique look. She has a history shrouded in mystery...she's somewhat a super spy of the DCU. Is she a villain? Is she a hero? Is she really a Kryptonian like Superman? She has shown up in animation with Batman and has connections to the Suicide Squad in the comics. She would look fantastic along with the rest of the DCUC collection.

Well, I don't quite think I meant to explain how you'd argue for your personal wants to be made. You've got interesting ideas, I'd just argue the Zatanna argument seems weak. It wasn't until I encountered this Zatanna outfit argument that I learned that the Perez look is actually a pretty small window for her overall appearance. What exactly is the "classic JLA" anyway? Some seem to think it was the late 70s/early 80s, but I always thought the most classic was supposed to be the 60s and Zatanna didn't have the Perez look then. And this is coming from someone that wasn't alive in the 60s or even early 70s, so it isn't like I have bias favoring the 60s era.

[Havok1891]

Wave 15, lmao. At the time, I was like "what is going on?" Martian Manhunter, and a bunch of people I dont want. Oh, Raven too. But OMAC, Jemm, Golden Pharaoh, and Sinestro Corps Bats? WHOOOOOOOOOO, Boy!!!!!
Now, of course, in retrospect, wave 15 was a godsend compared to 17 and 18. No offense to you super powers/superfriends fans. And Ive warmed up to my OMAC after reading the John Byrne stuff.

And was Wave 15 also the Validus wave? Building a fairly obscure C&C when the Legion 12 pack was so far from actual release. I honestly feel Wave 15 was a huge nail in the coffin. Maybe the first official one. It's sort of funny that it even had the final JLA member in it. It almost seems to say, "we made Martian Manhunter, that's it and we don't care what we toss out next."


Jemm, yeah . . . there was a doozie. How in the world did that happen? Sure, I know he and Martian Manhunter looks sort of similar . . . but that's not a true argument to make something like that. I think he should have been a very rare variant. Like one Jemm for every 3 Martian Manhunters or something.

[Bo-rilla Grodd]

3 Manhunters + 1 Jemm is greater than/less than 2 omacs and a Golden Pharaoh?
That's the magic equation right there.

[HectorHall]

And there is the rub. The more obscure, the happier I was. The figures that were not a thrill for me were sinestero corp batman or any one panel variant of a character that had been done. Soo.... If I could have gotten Mattel to listen to me? Keep mixing in the obscure with waves that included Aqualad and Speedy. As far as the subscription. I was really hoping for collector aimed team builders with a few nods and surprises. Instead it was an obvious dumping ground. When the final price tag after shipping was 30 bucks and more, I think it was fair to expect more. If I could get Mattel to listen to me? Thanks for 20 plus waves and box sets and so on. Thanks

[Havok1891]

See, if even if someone has a Lantern symbol on them, I still don't count them as non-obscure unless they are Sinestro or some Green Lantern that had their own title. What ever that Green Lantern is with the tree for a head, that guy is obscure . . . really obscure. Even Kiliwog is pretty obscure.

I did like some surprises like Killer Moth, Shark, Copperhead, etc. But they could go too far at times too. Omac & Kamandi for example.


How did so many get made and no Aqualad? I love a lot of the JSA that we got, but most of them being made before Aqualad . . . kind of surprising to me. And why? He couldn't have been tough to do.

I always wondered if they had some big project planned like a SDCC with sea horse idea or something.

I also wish they'd push out a Golden Age Green Arrow & Speedy two pack for SDCC or something. That could even work with Arrow seemingly doing well.